Wannabe Princess

Plus Size Fashion and Lifestyle in South Yorkshire

We Are The They And We’re Here To Stay

by Leave a Comment

We Are The They

You will have seen earlier on today I posted about a We Are The They campaign for this evening.

If you’re reading this it’s time to get on social media and post on your photos. I want to see you looking fabulous! Simply post your favourite photos of you on Twitter and Instagram using #WeAreTheThey 🙂

Quite frankly I am fed up of the notion that I shouldn’t be entitled to clothing because I might be unhealthy. I don’t think people quite realise that they’re talking about something as basic as putting clothes on a body when they say that plus size clothing should not exist.

I even saw a blog post this morning that suggests ‘obesity kills’ warnings should be sewn into the labels of my clothing.

Here is a comment I left on a blog post (which I refuse to link to) this morning.

“I think you are a little bit confused about the reasons for size 32 clothing…. I AM a size 32 and therefore I need clothing in my size. If you think that I am a size 32 because of the multiple choices of clothing I am now ‘lucky’ enough to have you are wrong. The truth is that people were fat long before they had clothing available in their size. I have been the teenager having to wear ill fitting school blazers and the 20-something having to squeeze my body into a work uniform that didn’t fit, just so I could do things as basic as getting an education or earning a living.

I think if you want to battle the ‘health’ of our nation then that is a whole different argument. You can read debates on both sides of the coin when it comes to the current health of our nation compared to 50 years ago. However, please be assured that those of us are fat because of much more complex reasons than striving to fit into the handful of plus size clothing options that we now.”
Plus size clothing might be available and it might make loving your body more acceptable – it also makes it possible for plus size people to look nice, go out to work, look after their children etc. The fact that clothing for fat people now exists is not the reason we are fat, so please do not deny us the right to something as basic as clothing when you talk about fat people and their right to clothing. We are the they!
So anyway…. I wanted once again to highlight when people say ‘they shouldn’t have clothes in this size’, ‘they shouldn’t be wearing a wedding dress like that’ and ‘they should lose weight to fit normal sized clothing’; WE are the people they are talking about…. WE ARE THE THEY AND WE’RE HERE TO STAY!
 Me, Hayley,Charli, Tanya, Kerry, Sam, Lucia and Becky
Kat, Sharon, Nikee, Kelly, Leighanne, Vicky and Charlene

Kitty, Emma, Caroline, Charlie, Susan, Becs, Katt and Becky

Steph, Vicky, Leah, Caroline, Faith, Leah, Lucy and Mookie
Dom, Lee, Sharon, Elena, Sian, Lisa, Nikki
Joanne, Nicki, Bethany, Michaela,  Charlotte, Lorriane
Don’t forget – post your photos on social media using #WeAreTheThey so we can all see and share them all! We are all beautiful.
Debz x

We Are The They – And We’re Not Going Away!

by Leave a Comment

You might have seen on Channel 4 last night a program called My Big Fat Wedding.


The program followed a few plus size brides and their search for the perfect wedding dress. Pretty harmless you would think – just some very happy brides to be sharing some special moments from their big day.


Sadly the world of social media did not agree. Instead Twitter became busy with people shocked at the very notion of plus size dresses. In fact it has even led to a blog post this morning (which I refuse to lead to) which claims that our nation is fat because plus size clothing exists.


I asked this blogger what she thought I should do without clothing (if they didn’t sell clothes in my size) and her answer was lose weight…. I’m not sure what I am supposed to do in the interim!


Anyway, the point is once again that this is all very anonymous. It is SO easy to say that ‘they shouldn’t be able to wear clothes’ and ‘they are unhealthy make them thinner’ but that doesn’t put real people in the picture. I’ve even seen some one suggest that ‘obesity kills’ labels be added to all my clothing.. EXCUSE ME!?


It’s time to remind people that we are REAL people. All we want is the basic right to clothing. I honestly find it baffling that people would take away the right to clothing in my size because I might be unhealthy!

So at 8pm tonight I want to do another wave of We Are The They Posts. So get your Twitter and Instagram ready to post photos on your social media…. Let’s show those who think we should be denied clothing WHO we are and why we’re important! #WeAreTheThey – Make sure you use the tag!
 
ALSO! I want to blog properly about this at 8pm (This is rushed…. I know you’d never tell) and I’d love to include your photos! Send them over by 7pm tonight and I’ll do my best to include them all, including any blog links. Email them to debzjs@hotmail.com (or drop me an email with your blog address if you want me to just pick one for you)



#WeAreTheThey and we’re not going away!


Debz x

When Did ‘Supporting’ My Body Become Fashionable? #PlusIsEqual – Or Is it?

by Leave a Comment

It is no secret that I want to see more body positivity in the world. I am a big believer in having fashion and opportunities available to everyone no matter their size. 


When you consider that this is something I am so passionate about, you would think I’d over the moon with campaigns by the likes of Lane Bryant such as #PlusIsEqual.


By their very own definition of the campaign “It’s time to represent 67% of US women are size 14-34. But they’re underrepresented on billboards, magazines, TV… everywhere. We believe all women should be seen and celebrated equally.”


At first glance it really does look fantastic. A campaign that goes right up to a US size 34 is amazing and well over due in my eyes. There is a count down on the website to their launch but in the mean time it has got people talking and sharing photos on social media, which can only be a good thing!


So, they released a tee to support the #PlusIsEqual movement and I headed over to the website to have a nosey… Imagine my surprise when I discovered that they only sell up to a size 28. 


Now don’t get me wrong I know that Lane Bryant usually sell up to a size 28 and that is fine (well it’s not, but you know what I mean) but surely for a campaign which calls for women up to a size 34 to be celebrated equally,they should sell clothes that I can actually celebrate in?



I have had a couple of conversations on social media but they just don’t seem to get it… It feels like this and campaigns such as #StyleHasNoSize are simply being done because they’re fashionable? We know that the media are talking more about body image positivity and being included – which is great! 



But it can’t just be fashionable. Brands like Lane Bryant can’t just be doing lip service. This isn’t about creating hashtags and gaining popularity because people think you’re doing something good. If you’re going to campaign for women up to a size 34 to be included then for goodness sake, how can you possibly do something that they are excluded from? 

This isn’t about me wanting more fashion choices (although I do), this is about brands fulfilling what they promise rather than just saying what they think we want to hear and not backing it up with anything!


What do you think?


Debz x

If you liked what you read & want to keep up to date with future posts… You can do so here:

YOU Are The They – Be Kind To Yourself

by 1 Comment

I am someone that is quite heavily (no pun intended) involved in many aspects of the plus size community. From attending plus size events, to being a member of Facebook groups I do it all. I love it and chatting to women of all shapes and sizes about their bodies makes me a very happy girl. Of course, being involved in the community means you get to meet people on different stages of their journey and that is fine, but it can sometimes be a little frustrating.



Every day I see beautiful women putting themselves down – often not even because they mean it but because it has become some what of a habit. They think that they should be covering their arms and disguising their stomachs, but no one else wants to see  that. Sometimes I get frustrated that these women aren’t in the same place as I am, but I have to remember that the journey to body acceptance is sometimes a long and twisted one and we’re all at different stages.



What I will say to anyone that has doubts about their body is just to try and be a little kinder to yourself. When you use hurtful words to describe yourself you’re giving other people permission to talk to talk to you like that. If you could listen to what you are saying & you could hear those words being said to someone else, how would you feel? The chances are that if you over heard someone telling someone else that they were fat and ugly or that they should be covered up because they are disgraceful you would feel horrified and do what you can to stop it. So when you are saying those things to yourself, why is that OK?? The answer is, it isn’t.


I really do understand that in today’s society, loving your body is hard work. But that doesn’t mean that it isn’t worth it. Work hard to love your body and just be a little kinder to it, it;s worth it I promise it!



The important thing to remember is that your body is worthy of love, no matter what ‘state’ it is in – whether you feel too fat, too thin, too tall, too short, too unhealthy etc – your body is still desperate for you to love it. You only get one body in this life time and all it wants is for you to love and appreciate it… When you think of it like that, why would you deny it?


I am so proud to say that the #WeAreTheThey movement has continued that is thanks to people like you. So many of you send your kinds words and photos for the #WeAreTheThey movement and you have made such a difference. People at the very early stages of loving their bodies really do benefit from seeing your photos so please keep up the good work. You make me all so proud.

On that note, WE have been nominated for an award. I realise that it sounds cheesy as hell but it is the truth. #WeAreTheThey might have been my initial idea but I couldn’t have sent 10,000 tweets over 3 days on my own. You all made #WeAreTheThey happen and I would love for us to win. Simply head to this page and click to vote. Best Achievement is at the bottom and you can just vote for that category if you wish, you don’t even need to put your name and/or email in. I am also up for Best Blogger if you’re feeling particularly generous however it really is #WeAreTheThey that I would love to see win. After all, #WeAreTheThey and we won’t be bullied into silence.
 

Privacy Policy